


donec iterum conveniant

by sephrati



Series: Kepler at Heart [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: :), Angst, But not that bad, Epilogue, F/M, Goodbyes, Implied Sternclay, M/M, Sad with a Happy Ending, just some sad goodbyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-12 12:21:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19946092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sephrati/pseuds/sephrati
Summary: -an epilogue to Kepler at Heart, a six chapter story about Jane Newton coming home to Kepler. Can be read alone, possibly, but will probably be slightly confusing-Jane had to go home sometime. Duck just didn’t think it had to be so soon.A look into Jane’s stay at Kepler, the people she got to know along the way, and a favor she asked for her brother. Little sisters always like to meddle just a little bit, after all.





	donec iterum conveniant

**Author's Note:**

> what’s up y’all, here’s a little epilogue piece I wrote for Kepler at Heart. I’ve had this is mind for a little while, but wanted it to be it’s own separate work, because I think KAH is complete within itself. Enjoy! :)

The steady hum of the car almost covered up Duck’s sniffling. 

Almost. 

He was never one to bust out the waterworks, and usually would deny that tears were shed, especially when accused by Aubrey that he cried during the Lion King during the Lodge movie night. Which he did, of course, but you would never get him to admit it.

But now, he had no problem hiding his sadness as he drove Jane to the airport, to a flight that would take her back home to New York, away from Kepler, and away from Duck. It had been two weeks since she had arrived in Kepler, and everything in the first 24 hours seemed to fall apart. Ideally, the day she arrived wasn't supposed to end with them standing at their parent’s graves, but it had ended up much better than either of them had imagined. She had elongated her stay, and got to truly meet everyone at the Lodge that wasn’t during a disaster dinner.

Ned had given her a full tour of the Cryptonomica, and was delighted when Jane asked very detailed questions after every long spiel he gave. She had been given a free “Keep Kepler Strange” t-shirt and told Ned she would recommend the place to her friends when she got back to the city. On the way home, Jane joked to Duck about all the stories Ned had told her in the short span of an hour.

“I mean, the guy talked about the aerodynamics of the fuckin’ _mothman_ for ten minutes without pause. Almost like he’s seen the thing or somethin’.”

Duck did his best not to swerve the car and simply swallowed and nodded, mulling over the irony that Jane had not only had dinner with the mothman, but had also complimented his glasses.

Later, during dinner back at Duck’s apartment, Jane would tell him,

“I really like Ned. He can be so full of shit sometimes, but he does it with a certain charm that makes you want to keep listening. He kind of reminds me of dad in a way, too.”

Duck had choked on his chicken when he heard that, wondering if Jane would almost have to perform the heimlich for him the second time that day, and then smiled when he realized that maybe she wasn't that far off. He would never in hell ever say that to Ned Chicane’s face, but he knew very well just how true it was.

Aubrey and Jane had hit it off right away, and one night they both disappeared while at the Lodge, and returned with Jane’s roots re-dyed blonde to match the rest of her hair, both of them with the biggest smiles on their faces. Duck couldn't help but smile too, glad his sister finally met the girl who reminded him so much of her. During the days when he missed his sister more than anything, Aubrey’s teasing and spunk mirrored Jane’s own so much that it almost made him feel like she was there. 

Both Barclay and Stern had baked them an apology pie, Stern more dressed down than any of them had ever seen him before. When he began apologizing profusely to Duck about what happened during the dinner, Duck had just hugged him and apologized right back, saying that he was glad he was in Kepler. Which, in all honesty, wasn't entirely true, but it had made Barclay and Stern smile, so it was worth it. Duck chose not to notice how close the two of them had become, and left that thought for a later time. 

Mama didn’t have many interactions with Jane, but she seemed to welcome her warmly, and always made an effort to have small conversations with her. The rest of the Lodge soon came around, and Jane became just another common face in the Lobby, Duck always by her side. She may not have known of their true underlying purpose, or of the incoming abomination that would be thrown upon them in the weeks to come, but she was almost just as familiar as everyone else. 

Her stay couldn't be forever, though. Duck watched her as she called Patrick, her fiancé, every night, and how after every hang up her face seem to drop. She always plastered on a smile and excused herself to bed afterwards, carrying a meowing Daisy in her arms for comfort, leaving Duck standing in his dimly lit kitchen, wondering if he should talk to her or not. He knew very well that New York was just as much as her home as Kepler, and that she needed to go back soon. On one of her last nights in Kepler, he brought them home “New York Style Pizza” and cheap wine and announced that they would be having a proper city dinner. Even though the wine was watered down and they had to chug most of it to rid their taste buds of the catastrophe pizza, Jane laughed ridiculously hard throughout all of it, so to Duck, it was worth it.

It was the little memories like this that made carrying Jane’s suitcase out to the car all the more difficult. Now, the despair of it all hits him as he pulls into the airport, their three hour car ride filled with laughter and chatter, a vast comparison to the ride to Kepler two weeks prior when a silence hung in the air. 

Duck carefully parked the car in the lot and made no move to get out, staring straight ahead and willing himself to pull it together. Jane sighed and said,

“I'm really sorry I can't stay longer, Duckie. I’ve had such an amazing time, but I need to go home. I swear to you, we’ll see each other soon. You’ll come up for the wedding, right?”

Duck smiled and nodded, answering, 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Jane smiled and reached back into the car, grabbing her suitcase and purse, and moved to get out of the car. For a split second, Duck glanced in the rear view mirror, and saw Jane at 18, her hair long and brown, ready to go off to college. He blinked, and heard the car door click as Jane got out to the car, back being in her late thirties, hair short and blonde. 

“Ya comin?”

Jane called from outside.

Duck followed, and tried to ignore the feeling in his chest as though he was losing Jane all over again. They walked together through the airport, and Duck’s anxiety grew as he began to wonder if another twenty years would pass by before he saw his sister’s face, if the next abomination would really get him this time, if he ever got to see her get married, ever met her fiancé-

Jane stopped and Duck almost ran into her as they neared the stopping point, where Duck would no longer be able to accompany Jane, and she turned to face him.

Her eyes were slightly red, shining in the fluorescent airport lighting. She gave a sad smile and sniffled, brushing stray pieces of hair out of her face. Duck reached to his wrist, where the dusty hair tie Jane gave to him when she first left had stayed for decades, and held it out to her. Jane gave a small laugh and took it from his hands, quickly wrapping her hair around it and pulling it back. 

He knew very well that she didn’t remember it from so long ago, but that was okay with him. It was almost like it finally came full circle, ending up where it belonged.

“Hey, I'll see you soon, okay? I promise, Duckie.”

Jane’s voice croaked slightly and she pressed her lips into a thin line, trying her best to keep it together.

Duck felt a deep ache and his chest, but smiled and pulled her in close and hugged her tightly, whispering back, 

“Have a good flight. I love you, Janie.”

Jane gripped her suitcase and stepped back, replying, 

“I love you too. Oh, by the way, I thought the drive back might be kinda lonely, so I called in a favor.”

She grinned and waves as she walked away, and Duck smiled before stopping to think about what she said. A favor…?

“Duck?”

He turned around with a start and was met with two red lenses staring back at him, a hopeful smile across Indrid Cold’s face. He was dressed in tattered jeans and a heavy blue sweater, a sweltering outfit for the midst of summer. He held a barely kept together notebook and a Tupperware container filled with cookies. 

“Jane asked me if I would accompany you home. I took a cab up here, wanted to give you two some time to say goodbye. Just sketched out some futures to fill the time. I understand if you'd rather I go home another way, I know you are still quite angry with me-”

For the first time since Duck had met him, Indrid looked almost nervous. Uncertain, even, which was jarring for a man who could see the future.

“But I thought this would be a good time to explain to you why I left. I do miss you- talking to you. So, uhm…”

Indrid looked down at the floor and then back at Duck, awaiting a reply. 

Duck stood for a second, thinking it all over, and then said, 

“I- uh- of course you can come back with me. Uh, I miss- you too. Actually. Uhm…”

He searched for more words and quickly pointed to the container, asking, 

“What's in that?”

Indrid smiled and said, 

“These? Cookies from Barclay. He told me to bring them with me. I did get a little hungry on the way up here, so I may have had one. Or two. I think he is still quite guilty about that dinner. Perhaps you should tell him that it's okay?”

Duck shrugged, a grin encompassing his face, and replied,

“I mean, I already have. But I'm also not one to turn away free food. C’mon, let's get in the car. I'll turn up the heat if you want.”

Duck and Indrid began walking out of the airport, shoulder to shoulder and talking quietly. From around the corner, Jane watched with a smile on her face, and began making her way to security, a tad bit late for her flight. She would make it, of course, and knew in the end it was worth it to make sure that her brother was okay. 

As she sat down in her gate, she opened her purse to search for gum, and found a photo of her and Duck from when they were teenagers, Duck in full Ranger uniform for his first day, Jane grinning next him. The edges were slightly discolored and bent, and she flipped it over and recognized her brother’s scrawl, reading, 

“ _Miss you already. See you soon. Stay outta trouble._

_Love, Duck”_

She chuckled and traced her fingers over the handwriting, making a note in her head to add a plus one to her brother’s wedding invitation, just in case a certain someone wished to come with him. 

Just to keep him company, of course. 

* * *

Donec iterum conveniant:

Latin for _until we meet again  
_

**Author's Note:**

> hey y’all,  
> it’s been a little bit! how are all of you? if you’ve read KAH before, thanks for reading the epilogue! I hope it was satisfying and didn’t hurt the ending or anything. I do love how KAH wrapped up, but I did have some wiggle room and wanted to right a fun onehsot that played of off it. If you haven’t read KAH before, hi! this was probably a little confusing. 
> 
> Summer has been really crazy and I’m soon going back to school. I have some plans for what I want to pursue in writing this fall, but I am kinda worried on how busy I’m going be. I have two series that I do want to do, but I may just be writing little oneshots for most of the coming school year. I find that multiple chapter stories stress me out and tend to be more draining than fun. Who knows, though! life is wacky.
> 
> anyway, I hope everyone is doing well. one thing I do miss is comments and talking to people, so please say hi below! kudos are appreciated, any notification increases my lifespan by 5 years.
> 
> hopefully I’ll be back soon! but maybe not! if so, have a good rest of your summer, and if you’re going back to school soon, we can suffer together. ;)
> 
> stay fresh,  
> sephrati


End file.
